§9103. Prizes; payment of prizes

            A.(1) Winning wagers that were placed via a sports wagering mechanism with cash and are evidenced by a ticket receipt shall be redeemed by a player within one hundred eighty days from the time of the event. The corporation shall pay tickets upon presentation after performing validation procedures.

            (2) Winning wagers placed using a sports wagering account shall be credited by the operator to the patron's account within one day from the time of the event unless otherwise allowed pursuant to the rules of the corporation.

            B. The operator's obligation to pay winning tickets shall expire after one hundred eighty days from the date of the event if not presented for payment. Additionally, if the ticket fails to be presented for payment within the one hundred eighty day period, the ticket holder waives any right to enforce payment of the ticket.

            C. If the proceeds of any sports wagering prize issued pursuant to this Subtitle are five hundred dollars or more, the prize shall be subject to Louisiana state income tax. Any attachments, garnishments, or executions authorized and issued pursuant to law shall also be withheld if timely served upon the process agent of the corporation.

            D. The corporation shall adopt rules to establish a system of verifying the validity of tickets claimed to win prizes and to effect payment of such prizes except that:

            (1) No prize, nor any portion of a prize, nor any right of any person to a prize awarded shall be assignable. Any prize, or portion thereof, remaining unpaid at the death of a prizewinner shall be paid to the estate of the deceased prizewinner or to the trustee of a trust established by the deceased prizewinner as settlor, if a copy of the trust document or instrument has been filed with the corporation, along with a notarized letter of direction from the settlor, and no written notice of revocation has been received by the corporation prior to the settlor's death. Following a settlor's death and prior to any payment to such a trustee, the corporation shall obtain from the trustee and each trust beneficiary a written agreement to indemnify and hold the corporation harmless with respect to any claims that may be asserted against the corporation arising from payment to or through the trust. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Subtitle, any person, pursuant to an appropriate judicial order, shall be paid the prize to which a winner is entitled.

            (2) A person twenty-one years of age or older may gift a winning sports wagering ticket to a person of any age. If the donee of a winning ticket is under the age of twenty-one years, the corporation shall direct payment to a member of the person's family who is twenty-one years of age or older or to the legal representative of the person on behalf of such person. The person named as custodian shall have the same powers and duties as prescribed for a custodian pursuant to the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act.

            (3) No prize shall be paid arising from claimed tickets that are stolen, counterfeit, altered, fraudulent, unissued, produced or issued in error, unreadable, not received, unclaimed, or not recorded by the corporation within applicable deadlines.

            (4) No particular prize shall be paid more than once, and in the event of a binding determination that more than one claimant is entitled to a particular prize, the sole remedy of such claimants is the award to each of them an equal share in the prize.

            E. No prize shall be paid upon a ticket purchased or sold in violation of this Subtitle.

            F. The corporation is discharged of all liability upon payment of a prize.

            Acts 2021, No. 80, §4, eff. July 1, 2021.